People in the Valley seem to have lost track of their dear ones as the communication blackout continued for the fourth day today. The students, professionals and families settled outside Kashmir are restless as they have not been able to hear any news from home.
Anisa Sheikh, who is married and settled in Bengaluru, is worried as she has not been able to talk to her parents. She keeps updating her Facebook status, but there is no response from home in uptown Srinagar. The phones are not working and there is no internet.
“I was not able to contact my parents for many days. Reports from the media were all the more worrying. They could not step outside during these days,” says Anisa.
“My brother is studying in Delhi. He needed money on Saturday, but could not convey this to his parents because everything is shut in Kashmir. Banks are closed and there is no way to deposit money. It is all so suffocating,” she adds.
Hundreds of students and professionals working in Delhi are in distress. They have not been able to hear any news from their families with news of escalating trouble in Kashmir only increasing their desperation.
“It is deeply worrying to not be able to contact people at home after knowing that there has been firing in my locality. I think this is the cost we have to pay,” says Farhana, a law professional who hails from volatile Sopore.
For the people living abroad, the only source of news for them from Kashmir is the media and social networking sites.
“I talked to my mother on Thursday morning. She was not keeping well. Now, when phones are not working, I am spending sleepless nights. I keep thinking about her — whether they were able to take her to hospital and whether there was a doctor available for treatment. Even if someone dies, we won’t come to know. Everything has been blacked out,” says Amir Bhat, 27, who works in a private company in the UAE.
No Update on ordeal for Kashmiris elsewhere
